Sleepy Hollow: Yet Another Pointless Mission
by LadyDianna
Summary: The Yellow Chosen is whisked away to the mysterious and familiar town of Sleepy Hollow; based somewhat on the movie


Hellooooo! How're you all doing? I've just started this story an' it's not exactly finished yet.*so bear with me* Anywho, the character in it is a person of my own design; she's also in a couple of my cousin's stories which haven't been posted yet. Anywho, this character also appears in Change, The Chosen Adventures at Hogwarts, and Dianna's Destiny. If you have any questions e-mail me at: yellowchosen_44@hotmail.com *ignore anyone that tells you differently *  
  
  
  
Sleepy Hollow: Yet Another Pointless Mission  
  
It was a cold and bleak October morning when I arrived in the tired town of Sleepy Hollow. I was there to investigate the odd murders of several of the town's citizens. The year is 1799, my name is Detective Deanna Crane.  
  
"Wait a minute! They didn't have female detectives back then Sarah! I thought you said that this was going to be a fact based story!" Sean said as he read the first paragraph of my story. Back to reality, my real name's Sarah, and I'm the Yellow Chosen. I have been chosen to protect the Princess and I have magical powers. I also like to write in my free time, and it just so happens that all of the other chosen like to criticize my work.  
  
"Sean, I never said that the story would be true! It's based on events that are true!" I yelled, as I pushed him away from my laptop. As I started typing again, the screen changed, replacing my story was a face with an annoying smile on its' face.  
  
"Mik! You just erased my story! I could kill you!" I growled as I conjured a bat.  
  
"Wouldn't recommend it Sarah, remember last time? You were confined to your room and you had to pay a lot of money to replace the old one." Sean reminded me and took the bat.  
  
"What do you want Mik?" I sighed.  
  
"Master Greene wants to see you, says it's something urgent." Mik explained. Sean and I looked at each other.  
  
"Assignment." we both said at the same time.  
  
"Okay Mik, I'm on my way." I said as I grabbed my coat and shoved Sean out of my room.  
  
"Actually, he told me to send you these clothes." Mik said as clothes appeared on my bed. I was amazed to find really old fashioned clothes, they looked as if they dated back to the Revolutionary War. There was a white dress shirt with a high collar, a black jacket, also with a high collar, black pants that reached the knee, a long coat that buttoned up on the side, a doctor's bag, and a pair of black boots.  
  
"What century is he sending me to?" I asked carefully pulling the clothes on.  
  
"Seventeen something, a hundred some years after a war on your planet, a war called the Revolutionary War. A war which was fought by the English and the thirteen colonies for the control over the colonies. Need I go on?" Mik asked.  
  
"No Mik, they drilled into my brain when I was in eighth grade, if I hear anymore about it I'll die." I replied as I left Mik to his ramblings. Master Greene smiled as he saw me enter the room.  
  
"Ah Sarah, I see you got the clothes I sent you!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah." I grumbled. "What's this all about?"  
  
I'm sending you back to 1799, to a town known as Sleepy Hollow. It's on Earth in upper New York. Do you know the era?" he looked at me.  
  
"Know it? I'm writing about it!" I exclaimed. "What are you sending me back to do?"  
  
"You must find out who is behind the murders of four townspeople." Greene said, handing me a rather old piece of parchment. "You shall be staying with the VanTassles who are old friends of mine. I have made arrangements with them, they shall house you. You are an Inspector, when you arrive in Sleepy Hollow, your powers will be gone. You shall still have your fighting abilities. In place of your powers, you shall have extensive knowledge of biology and sciences. You may have to perform several autopsies on the victims. Good luck on your case, you may go by whatever name you wish, but remember, you are in the 1700's, keep it with the era."  
  
"Okay Master Greene, could you please tell Bobby where I am and that I won't be joining him for video games tonight?" I asked. He nodded and I was off.  
  
When I appeared, I stood before a large house that loomed over me in the darkness. There was a smell of fresh leaves and of old decaying ones, it was fall. I raised my fist to knock on the door, but before I could, it swung open and a rather jolly looking gentleman ushered me in. I could hear the sound of a fiddle playing accompanied by the sound of merriment. A young man was blind folded and moving around with his hands in front of him. I tried to move around the circle but the young man ran into me.  
  
"Who is this then? Is it Katrine VanWarren?" he said with a smile.  
  
"Forgive me sir, I am but a stranger." I replied nervously.  
  
"Well, for your luck then." the boy said and kissed my cheek. I blushed as he removed the blindfold. "Who are you?" he whispered, looking at my clothes. The music had stopped and everyone was staring.  
  
"Who is this Ashton? She wasn't invited." a cold voice said from behind me. Turning, I saw a girl with wild red hair and a distasteful look on her face.  
  
"I am looking for Mr. VanTassle." I said, turning back to the young man.  
  
"I am Ashton VanTassle." he offered.  
  
"What is this?" a middle aged man entered the room and looked at me. "Well, an unexpected guest. You're welcome to stay, as long as you are not selling anything. We wouldn't want to ruin the festivities on this Hollow Eve!" he chuckled.  
  
"Actually sir, I am here from New York. I am Inspector Crane, here to investigate the murders." I replied, trying to avoid the eyes that stared at me. The man's smile faded.  
  
"Come with me." he looked at the fiddlers. "Well, why are you just standing there? Play on!" he yelled. I heard the fiddle begin as he closed the door behind us. "You're not what Greene told us you'd be." the man said pouring a cup of tea and handing it to me. I sipped my tea slowly and looked up at him. "He didn't say you would be a woman." a distasteful look was on his face. I sighed and put my tea down.  
  
"Sir, I am here to solve a murder, if you wish me to leave and have your town be terrorized by this murderer, I will."  
  
"No, as long as you stop him, I shall be content." VanTassle replied. "Please, sit."  
  
When I sat down, I noticed five men sitting by the fire, VanTassle introduced them to me. I stored their names in my memory and listened to what they had to say. After hearing their story, I looked at them in disbelief.  
  
"You're trying to tell me that a Hessian, who has been dead for a hundred years, has killed four people?" I said.  
  
"It's true Inspector," the bookkeeper, known as Hagroves, said. "I've seen him, he's looking for his head." I looked at all of them and smiled.  
  
"What you have here is a madman, someone who flesh and blood, not a dead Hessian." I said, folding my hands across my chest. "Now, if you would please excuse me, it has been a long journey, and I must get some sleep." I stood and brushed the wrinkles from my jacket. I bid everyone a goodnight and was shown to my room.  
  
It was a cold and dark attic, I set my things on the bed and began unpacking. In the doctor's bag were odd medical instruments, amazingly, I knew what the were and how they worked. Out of another bag I pulled out my laptop, which was in cogneto as an old notebook. I opened it and saw Mik's face smiling up at me.  
  
"Hullo Mistress Sarah, how goes the mission?" he asked, watching me continue to unpack my things.  
  
"These people seen to be suffering from some sort of delusion. Perhaps there's some sort of hallucinogen in the wheat, I'm not sure." I yawned. "I'm going to go to sleep now, Sarah out, return to notebook form." the book closed by itself and the laptop returned to its book form.  
  
"Inspector Crane! Wake up! There's been another murder!" someone shook me out of my sleep. Turning over, I saw a woman with blonde hair piled onto her head.  
  
"Who are you?" I croaked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.  
  
"I am Mrs. VanTassle, please, you are needed downstairs." she left the room.  
  
Carefully, I put all of my medical instruments back in the case and pulled on my jacket and pants. When I got downstairs, a bowl of porridge was shoved at me. I set it on the table.  
  
"I think I'll eat after I see the body." I said, leaving the kitchen.  
  
My horse reached the crime scene in ten minutes. The men from the night before were standing in a semi-circle around the body. I dismounted and looked down at the headless figure. Instinctively, I pulled out a handkerchief from my coat pocket and put it to my nose, the smell of death was overwhelming. I looked at the man closest to the body, he was the town doctor, Doctor Bennett.  
  
"Did you move the body, doctor?" I asked, looking at him. He blinked in surprise.  
  
"Of course, we all moved the body." he sputtered. Anger flared up in me.  
  
"You must never move the body." I grumbled, setting down my bag of instruments.  
  
"Why?" the doctor asked, looking over my shoulder. I couldn't think of anything to say, I fought the stench as I replied abruptly,  
  
"Because." I knelt down next to the body and examined the neck with a pair of medical pliers, a beetle crawled out. I reeled away and fought the urge to vomit. "Interesting." I said, covering up my discomfort.  
  
"What is it?" VanTassle said.  
  
"Ahem, there appear to be burn marks on the neck, as if the weapon were heated. But notice that there are no blisters nor is there any blackened skin." I quickly explained.  
  
"The sword of hell." Reverend Baker whispered. I looked at him, skeptical.  
  
"Indeed. Now, where is the head?" I looked back at the men. "Come on gentleman, there has to be a head." they shook their heads. "Usually in cases like this, the head is severed to erase the victim's identity."  
  
"But we know who it is, Jacob Quinn. The Horseman has his head!" a man clutching an ankh said, I instantly recognized him as Magistrate Phillips. Looking down, I saw the hoofprints of a horse, I followed their strides. "This must have been a huge horse. The rider came this way, severed the head, and then turned around to..." I stopped.  
  
"Claim the head." VanTassle finished for me. I collected my tools and remounted my horse.  
  
"This has all been very interesting gentleman, shall we go back to our homes and leave the grave diggers to their work?" I asked.  
  
When I reached the VanTassle manor, Ashton stood in the doorway.  
  
"Ah, Inspector Crane, we meet again." he said and smiled. "Care to join me for breakfast?"  
  
"Certainly." I replied, following him into the house. Someone handed me a plate with pancakes and sausages on it, my stomach churned.  
  
"Please, sit down." Ashton pulled out a chair for me next to the fire. "Here, have some tea." he handed me a cup, I wrinkled my nose. "Is there something wrong?" I looked up at him.  
  
"No, thank you." I replied and gulped down some of the tea to prove it.  
  
"Where did you say you were from, Inspector?" Ashton asked, watching me slowly eat the pancakes.  
  
"New York City." I said between mouthfuls. "I work for the police department there."  
  
"Uhm, Miss. Crane, may I ask what your first name is? I do not wish to keep calling you Inspector." Ashton asked smiling.  
  
"Seraphina." I blurted out.  
  
"What a lovely name, Seraphina. I am happy to meet you Inspec- uhm, Seraphina." Ashton winked. "Why do you not wear dresses like all the other women?" he asked looking at my pants.  
  
"It's rather difficult to perform any sort of autopsy or any proper investigation in a dress. It makes movement rather uncomfortable when you chase a murderer in a corset, dragging your petticoats through mud." I explained bitterly. I was getting very fed up with all of the men who thought a woman's place was in the kitchen.  
  
"I seem to have hit upon a rather rough area, forgive me. I only meant to start a conversation." the smile faded from his face. Looking at him I felt guilty for my harshness.  
  
"Uhm, don't worry about it, everyone asks me that." I replied quickly, looking out the window.  
  
"Inspector Crane, Master VanTassle needs to see you in the graveyard immediately." a servant entered and startled me.  
  
"Uhm, thank you." I set my plate on the table and looked at Ashton. "Thank you for keeping me company." I smiled and followed the servant outside to the graveyard. Standing there was Mr. VanTassle, Magistrate Phillips and a tomboy-ish looking young girl.  
  
"Ah, Inspector Crane! Glad to see that you made it back all in one piece!" VanTassle exclaimed with a smile.  
  
"What can I do for you?" I said smiling hollowly at him.  
  
"This," he pulled the girl in front of him. "is Alanna Quinn, daughter of Jacob Quinn, the latest victim." I smiled at the young girl.  
  
"That's wonderful. How do you do young Quinn?" I extended my hand. Alanna looked at.  
  
"I am the only Quinn." she replied quietly.  
  
"Yes, well, what can I do for you?" I looked up at VanTassle.  
  
"I want to help you solve this murder and help avenge my father's death." Alanna said loudly.  
  
"Surely your mother-" I started.  
  
"My mother is dead, she has my father to care for her in heaven. As I said, I am the only Quinn left alive." the girl snapped, looking at her father's fresh grave.  
  
"Very well, I'll let you help me only living Quinn." I sighed. "Find a place in the servant's quarters at the VanTassle's."  
  
I left the graveyard and went to my room to see if I could find out any information about the Headless Horseman on the Terrainian internet. I found that the Horseman's grave was in the West Woods buried by tree called the Tree of the Dead. I also checked my messages, there was one from my cousin Bobby, who was the Black Chosen.  
  
"Don't think that just because you have an assignment you can get out of me kicking your butt at that new 'Mortal Combat' VR game! I'm kickin' your butt when you get back!" I chuckled as I leaned back in my chair. There was a knock at the door and I frantically shut the laptop and answered the door. It was Alanna.  
  
"Hello Inspector, are you ready to go?" she asked, looking around my room.  
  
"Ahem, yes, we need to ride out to the West Woods to a tree called the Tree of the Dead." I said putting my book into my bag. "Are you brave enough to follow?" Alanna nodded her head vigorously.  
  
"I'll get the horses ready." she ran downstairs. I took a pistol from one of my bags, carefully put it into my coat pocket, and followed Alanna.  
  
The West Woods were very dark, there was no wildlife what-so-ever. No birds chirped, no flowers grew, it was a forest of gnarled dead trees.  
  
"I think that it's just over this clearing, we'll have to leave the horses here." I said dismounting. I climbed a steep hill and looked over into the clearing. There was a figure in a black cloak sitting on a horse there, I pulled out my pistol.  
  
"I have a loaded gun aimed at your back, turn around slowly and show me your hands." I said, entering the clearing. The figure turned, it was Ashton VanTassle, I heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
"Ashton, what are you doing out here? I could have shot you just now!" I exclaimed.  
  
"I heard you talking about the West Woods and decided to follow you." he said watching me put my weapon away. "Why do you need to find the Tree of the Dead?"  
  
"The Horseman is buried there, perhaps there are some clues there about the murders." I replied, approaching the twisted tree that was known as the Tree of the Dead. I took out a pocket knife from my pocket and cut a piece of the tree, blood oozed out.  
  
"Alanna, my I please have an ax?" I held out my hand and waited for her to hand it to me. I raised it above my head and chopped away a root. Blood flew into my eyes, wiping it away, I dropped the ax and pulled the root away. Something rolled out of the tree, it was a head. I suppressed a gasp and knelt down to examine it.  
  
"Do you know who this is?" I turned and looked at Alanna, she nodded.  
  
"It's my father." she sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.  
  
"Give me the shovel." I commanded, climbing up on of the large roots. I found an old sword sticking out of the ground and a disturbed mound of dirt. I started digging. After an hour, I unearthed the skeleton of a human, the head was nowhere in the grave. I knew it was the horseman's remains.  
  
"Someone must have his head. But what sick person would disturb the dead?" I thought outloud and stared to refill the grave with dirt.  
  
"Inspector, the tree, it's moving!" Alanna cried as I threw the last heap of dirt on the mound. I hopped down and walked over to Ashton and Alanna. I felt a hot gush of wind released from the tree, something black whipped passed us, knocking me down.  
  
Seraphina, are you all right?" Ashton asked, helping me off of the dead leaves.  
  
"Yes," I replied, dusting dirt from my jacket. "But what was that?"  
  
"It came out of the tree, it was the Horseman." Alanna stated. I sighed and looked doubtfully at her.  
  
"Fine, whatever, lets just get out of here and get cleaned up." I grumbled, ascending the hill and remounting my horse.  
  
The rest of the day was rather uneventful, I stayed with Aston and we talked for a long time. Later that evening I went for a walk and passed the pub. Peering through the window, I saw the Magistrate and Mr. VanTassle arguing about something. The Magistrate stormed out and wandered out of the village. I followed, my curiosity getting the better of me.  
  
"Magistrate Phillips, please wait. I need to speak with you!" I called after him, he sped up. I ran as fast as I could and caught up with him.  
  
"I have nothing to say to you, Inspector." he growled.  
  
"Do you know anyone who had something to gain from killing Jacob Quinn?" I asked, trying to catch my breath. But before the Magistrate could blow me off again, the sound of hoof beats came towards us. The Magistrate began running, with a blinding flash, the horseman was behind him, chasing the Magistrate. WHAM! The Magistrate's head rolled towards me. I fell onto the ground and ended up staring into his terrified face. Hearing the hoof beats come back, I looked up. A blade stabbed into the Magistrate's head. I looked up at the rider, who held the sword victoriously, like the Magistrate, the horseman had no head. My breath came faster and the darkness consumed me. The Headless Horseman was not just a myth.  
  
"Inspector? Inspector Crane? Please wake up." I heard a voice pleading. Slowly opening my eyes, the face of Mrs. VanTassle stared down at me, behind her stood Alanna.  
  
"What happened?" I muttered, rubbing my forehead.  
  
"You fainted, they found you near the Magistrate's body. You were out cold. Did something frighten you?" Mrs. VanTassle asked, handing me a bowl of porridge. I was about to reply, but stopped myself.  
  
"I must have just been tired, I got very little sleep last night. I was writing a letter to my superiors." I lied, eating a spoonful of the porridge, which was very burnt. I looked around, trying to change the subject. "Uhm, where's the servant, why are you serving me?"  
  
"I don't know, I think she's run off in fear after all of the death's here." she replied quickly, averting her eyes from my constant gaze. "I will leave you to your dinner, good night." she nodded her head and left the room. Alanna rushed to my bed and grabbed hold of my arm.  
  
"You saw him didn't you? You saw the Horseman!" she exclaimed. I sighed and nodded.  
  
"How long have I been asleep?" I asked, sitting up and putting the burnt porridge on my nightstand.  
  
"About two hours, you sure do a lot of talking in your dreams." Alanna replied.  
  
"I know, it's not my fault." I muttered and dismissed Alanna to the kitchen to get me some better food.  
  
"I cannot believe you fainted at the sight of a headless man on a horse." a voice said from the window. Sitting on the window seat, staring out the window, was a young man with long black hair. He turned towards me and smiled, his silver eyes flashed.  
  
"David, why can't you leave me alone?" I said with an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Just here to give you a little hint, the dead guy on the horse, just killed..." he stopped for a second, as if calculating. "two people, one of them was little Ashton's girlfriend, Katrine VanWarren. The other one was the bookkeeper. Just thought you'd like to know." he blew me a kiss and vanished. I jumped out of bed and wrapped my cloak around me. Pushing open the door, I almost knocked Alanna over.  
  
"I will be right back!" I yelled over my shoulder.  
  
Running into the night, I stumbled over a large tree root and fell right into a pile of dirt. Lifting myself up, I saw a light coming from the dried up riverbed. Peering inside, I saw a disturbing sight to say the least, it was two people on top of each other. One of them took a knife and cut her left hand, I gasped as the blade went in. The woman turned around and to my surprise, it was Mrs. VanTassle. I ducked out of sight and started running for the house, the crime scene could wait until the next day. As I entered the house I paused in the parlor to catch my breath.  
  
"Are you all right Seraphine?" a soft voice asked from the fire. I muffled a scream and turned around. Sitting in a chair and reading a book was Ashton. I caught my breath and sat down next to him.  
  
"Yes, I was just outside to see something." I replied.  
  
"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked, putting his book down.  
  
"Uh, yes. What's that you're reading?" I asked, changing the subject.  
  
"It's called 'Modern Witchcraft', my mother gave it to me before she died." Ashton replied, handing me the book. "I want you to have it." I was about to object. "It's helped me enough, you keep it, perhaps it will help you one day." he smiled and stood up. "Well, it's back to bed with me." he vanished up the stairs, leaving me by the dying embers. I flipped through the pages of the book as I trudged up the stairs.  
  
'What was the lady of the house doing outside with another man?' I thought, hanging my cloak up. I let out an enormous yawn and set the book on the windowsill. I noticed a carriage outside, two figures were standing in front of it, they appeared to be arguing. I squinted to see who they were, but I couldn't tell. Just as I was about to close my curtains, I saw the face of Doctor Bennett beneath the black cloak that was climbing into the carriage. 


End file.
